Starts With Goodbye
by RicksIlsa
Summary: Picks up from where the Season 6 Finale ended. What if the worst happens and Leonard never makes it back home? What becomes of Penny and Sheldon? AU Season 7 Penny-Sheldon romance here, so keep on moving if that's not your cup of tea! Character Death.


Not beta'd. I really need a beta. Please let me know if you'd like the job. I have lots more planned, but I want to make sure it's well received first. Also, rating will definitely go up if I continue.

Starts with Goodbye

_I guess it's gonna have to hurt,_  
_I guess I'm gonna have to cry,_  
_And let go of some things I've loved,_  
_To get to the other side,_  
_I guess it's gonna break me down,_  
_Like falling when you try to fly,_  
_It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,_  
_Starts with goodbye_

-Carrie Underwood

Sheldon talked the whole way home from the airport. At first I tried to keep up with him, but eventually I just let him speak for me too, which seemed to make him happy. But then he started quoting all these facts about deaths on a boat. I yelled at him to shut-up, and immediately felt guilty. He seemed like such a little kid at times.

I gave him my most apologetic smile, and asked if he could explain how Professor Proton could power a clock with a potato. I still didn't understand it, and my mind drifted as Sheldon started using words whose meaning I couldn't decipher even by context. But he seemed happy again, so I just let my mind wander as he prattled on.

I was happy just thinking about the new bottle of wine that awaited me at home. I planned to put in a sappy romance movie, get good and tipsy, and cry. I had felt like crying from the moment Leonard told me about this trip. But what kind of person would I be if I made him feel guilty about taking advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime?

I was surprised by how much I already missed him.

Of course my evening plans got thrown out the window by my two best girlfriends and a now-able-to-talk-to-women-while-sober Raj.

This time, it was Raj who rambled on and on as me and the girls hit my wine. All too soon the bottle was empty and everyone was leaving. After the last guest left, I headed for my bedroom to gather my laundry. I was out of alcohol and no longer in the mood to watch a movie, might as well do something productive to pass the time. Besides, it was Saturday night so Sheldon would be doing his laundry too.

The few hours I spent in the laundry room with Sheldon were surprisingly fun. We bantered and teased each other a little and discussed plans for the week. Raj and I had worked out a schedule so that one of us would drive Sheldon to and from work. I made further plans for grocery shopping, and what we would do for dinner each night. The guys would take him to the comic book store, thankfully, and I had agreed to take Leonard's place on Halo night.

Sheldon seemed pleased that his schedule wouldn't be that disrupted by Leonard's departure. He started rambling about black holes and the kinds of things Leonard would be doing. I got tired of the unhelpful explanations and asked him about his mother in an attempt to change the subject.

He had received an email from Mary Cooper just that morning and recited it to me verbatim when I asked what she'd written. He had a slight sparkle in his eye as he allowed his Texan Accent to come out mimicking his mother's voice. I giggled.

Apparently Sheldon's twin sister Missy had gotten engaged and his mother and grandmother were all caught up in planning a Christmas Wedding. Sheldon sneered at the idea of weddings, Christmas, and his mother's assumption that he would attend.

I reminded him that family weddings were non-optional social conventions and his shoulders drooped a little. Then I pointed out that a trip home to Texas would be an opportunity to visit his Mee-Maw and he perked back up.

I was smiling when I returned to my apartment with my clean and folded (the right way) clothes. The two hours I'd spent with Sheldon did more to lift my spirits than the 'wine party'. But now it was time for bed.

I took a long shower and slowly combed my hair until it was dry before slipping into my sleep shorts and tank top and crawling into bed.

Sleep did not come easily. I lay on my back with my eyes shut, and could see the next four months stretched out endlessly in front of me. It reminded me of when the guys went on that three month trip to the arctic. The main difference between that time and this was that Leonard didn't know how I felt about him then. He knew this time, and he still left.

It was a petty thought to have and it led to others. Leonard was a physicist. Apparently a good one, despite what Sheldon thought. How many opportunities like this were going to come up? How many times would Hawking or… some other famous scientist snap their fingers and he'd run off and leave me alone for months on end? What if it turned into years?

I huffed and turned onto my side. I was being ridiculous. Leonard would always stay if I asked. And if I ever thought it was too much, I would ask him to stay.

Feeling better at that decision, I felt sleep finally coming on. So of course Sheldon showed up and knocked on the wall over my head.

I buried my face in the pillow to suppress my scream.

He had a nightmare, wonderful.

After tucking him back in bed and singing 'Soft Kitty' I decided to just sleep in Leonard's bed.

At the time, I didn't realize that I would never spend another night in my apartment. I didn't know that, 3 weeks later, my world would change forever.

I didn't know that early that one Saturday morning, I would get the Call. I had no clue that one weekend in mid- June would begin with the trilling of my cell, and the complete directional change of my life.

The Call was from Leonard's mother.

"Beverly? Hi! How are things in new Jersey?" I asked, politely as I stifled a yawn.

"Oh, you want to small talk? Alright, things are fine in New Jersey. I think I'm finally through the worst of menopause, my divorce has been finalized, and I'm thinking of getting a cat."

I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the clock.

"That's great. But why are you calling me at 3AM?"

"Leonard's dead."

I sat up straighter in bed and shook my head, sure I'd misheard.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"My son, Leonard? The one you have regular coitus with? He's dead. Drowned at sea. Apparently there was a storm and he got thrown into the water. He's never been good at the athletic things, he had asthma, you know."

I didn't respond; just tightened my grip on the phone and had to take a second to remember how to breathe.

Leonard was dead.

"Anyway, as you are the one closest to him, I thought I should tell you first. If you could please let Sheldon know for me, I would appreciate it. I'm rather tired, and have more people to inform."

Leonard was dead.

"S-sure," I stammered as my eyes started to burn.

"Can I do anything else to help?" I asked my voice thick with unshed tears.

Leonard was dead.

"You can pick me at the airport on Thursday. My flight gets into Pasadena at 2pm. I've already contacted a local funeral home there. His body should be there on Friday, and we'll have the funeral on Sunday."

Leonard is dead.

"O-okay," I agreed.

Leonard was dead.

"Thank you, bye."

Leonard was dead.

"Bye."

My voice was little more than a hoarse whisper, but it didn't matter. She had already hung-up.

Leonard was dead.

End Chapter One


End file.
